Chinese doctor removed patient’s lung tumor with the help of robot from 5,000 km away
A surgeon in Shanghai, China successfully operated on a lung cancer patient 5,000 km away using a 5G surgical robot.
In short
- A doctor performed lung cancer surgery 5,000 km away from the patient
- The doctor was based in Shanghai, while the patient was in far western China
- India also has an indigenous surgical robotic system
A doctor in China performed surgery on a patient 5,000 kilometers away. The surgeon at Shanghai Chest Hospital, along with his colleagues, operated remotely using a domestic 5G surgical robot and removed a lung tumor.
The surgeon was in Shanghai, while the patient and the surgical robot were in Kashgar in the Xinjiang autonomous region (China’s far west), nearly 5,000 kilometers away. The surgery was performed on July 13.
Dr. Luo Qingquan from Shanghai Chest Hospital, the lead surgeon of the operation, said the success of the operation, which was performed using surgical robot technology, shows that patients can enjoy high-level medical services in their hometowns instead of having to travel to big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
The video of this operation has gone viral on social media.
According to the Shanghai Daily, the hospital is the country’s first medical institution to perform robot-assisted chest surgery, and also performs the largest number of such surgeries in China.
In addition to robotic surgery, the hospital has also been involved in research and development of robotic technology.
India too has an indigenous surgical robot system, developed by Dr Sudhir Srivastava’s SSI Mantra, which helps doctors perform robotic surgery even if they are not close to the patient.
The Indian surgical robot is a modular design with over 5 different arms, which can also be helpful in heart surgery.
The surgeon sits at the console station, which has a 32-inch monitor and 3D vision. It also has a security camera that detects the doctor’s presence. If the doctor looks away, the surgery will stop automatically.
3D vision reduces mistakes and accidents. The instruments used in the surgery are 8 mm in size.
The operation in China was 5,000 kilometres away, while the recent one in India was 40 kilometres away. The surgeon who performed the operation, Dr SK Rawal, medical director of the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCIRC), was in Gurgaon and his 52-year-old patient was in Rohini, Delhi.
